The Blood Order (), officially known as the Decoration in Memory of 9 November 1923 (), was one of the most prestigious decorations in the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

(NSDAP). During March 1934, Hitler authorized the Blood Order to commemorate the 9 November 1923 coup attempt of the Nazi Party. The medal is silver, with the obverse bearing a depiction of an eagle grasping an oak leaf wreath. Inside the wreath is the date and to the right is the inscription . The reverse shows the entrance of the

Feldherrnhalle The Feldherrnhalle ("Field Marshals' Hall") is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of th ...

in relief (where the coup ended in defeat), and directly above is the angled

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

with sun rays in the background. Along the top edge is the inscription: ("And after all, you won").

History

The first issue of the decoration, struck in 99% pure silver, was awarded to 1,500 participants in the putsch who had also been members of the

or one of its formations before January 1932 (continuous service), or had been cadets from the Munich Infantry School who marched in support of Ludendorff. All medals were numbered (except Hitler's and Göring's) and awarding was done very carefully. Unlike other medals, the ribbon was worn on the right breast of the uniform tunic in the form of a rosette and the medal sometimes was pinned on and suspended below. In May 1938, to the dismay of the putsch participants, the award was extended to persons who had (a) served time in prison for Nazi activities before 1933, (b) received a death sentence which was later commuted to life imprisonment for Nazi activities before 1933, or (c) been severely wounded in the service of the Party before 1933; subsequently it was further extended to members of the Austrian Nazi Party who had participated in the 1934 July Putsch, or who had received significant prison time or injuries for Nazi activities. It could also be bestowed on certain other individuals at the discretion of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, the last recipient being

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

(posthumous). These subsequent medals were struck in 80% silver with serial numbers above 1500 and did not carry the maker's name () as the Type I medals did. If a holder of this medal left the party, the medal would have to be relinquished. In total 16 women received the award, two from the 'Altreich' ( Eleonore Baur and Emma Schneider) and 14 from Austria. Given the number of original marchers in the putsch, the number of awards given under the 1938 extensions (436), and the awards for outstanding service under those same extensions, the total number of recipients numbered fewer than 6,000. In November 1936, Hitler gave new "orders" for the "Orders and Awards" of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. The top NSDAP awards are listed in this order: 1. Coburg Badge; 2. Nürnberg Party Badge of 1929; 3. SA Treffen at Brunswick 1931; 4. Golden Party Badge; 5. Blood Order; followed by the Gau badges and the Golden HJ Badge.

Selected recipients

Wilhelm Adam Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germ ...

Max Amann Max Amann (24 November 1891 – 30 March 1957) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, a German politician, businessman and art collector, including of looted art. He was the first business manager of the Nazi Party and later became the hea ...

* Eleonore Baur * Heinrich Bennecke * Joseph Berchtold * Johannes Block * Franz Bock *

Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery, private secretary to Adolf Hitler, and a war criminal. Bormann gained immense power by using his position as Hitler ...

* Kuno-Hans von Both *

Philipp Bouhler Philipp Bouhler (11 September 1899 – 19 May 1945) was a German senior Nazi Party functionary who was both a (National Leader) and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP. He was also the SS official responsible for the euthana ...

* Wilhelm Bruckner * Walter Buch * Karl-Heinz Bürger *

Kurt Daluege Kurt Max Franz Daluege (15 September 1897 – 24 October 1946) was a German ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'' and ''Generaloberst'' of the police, the highest ranking police officer, who served as chief of ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police) of N ...

* Eduard Dietl * Sepp Dietrich * Franz Xaver Dorsch *

Anton Drexler Anton Drexler (13 June 1884 – 24 February 1942) was a German far-right political agitator for the ''Völkisch'' movement in the 1920s. He founded the German Workers' Party (DAP), the pan-German and anti-Semitic antecedent of the Nazi Part ...

Dietrich Eckart Dietrich Eckart (; 23 March 1868 – 26 December 1923) was a German '' völkisch'' poet, playwright, journalist, publicist, and political activist who was one of the founders of the German Workers' Party, the precursor of the Nazi Party. Eckart ...

* Hermann Esser * Karl Fiehler * Josef Fitzthum * Hans Frank *

Wilhelm Frick Wilhelm Frick (12 March 1877 – 16 October 1946) was a German prominent politician of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and convicted war criminal who served as Minister of the Interior in Adolf Hitler's cabinet from 1933 to 1943 and as the last governor ...

* Johann Baptist Fuchs * Albert Ganzenmüller * Ernst Girzick *

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

* Ulrich Graf * Jakob Grimminger * Ernst Hanfstaengl * Friedrich Haselmayr * Franz Hayler * Edmund Heines * Wilhelm Helfer * Otto Herzog *

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

* Walter Hewel *

(posthumous, June 1942) * Friedrich Hildebrandt *

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

(withdrawn, April 1945) * Hans Hinkel *

* Hermann Höfle * Hans Georg Hofmann * Adolf Hühnlein *

Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was an Austrian high-ranking SS official during the Nazi era, major perpetrator of the Holocaust and convicted war criminal. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a ...

* Emil Ketterer *

Günther Korten Günther Korten (26 July 1898 – 22 July 1944) was a German Colonel General and Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe in World War II. He died from injuries suffered in the 20 July plot, assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on 20 July 19 ...

* Fritz Ritter von Krausser * Werner Kreipe * Theodor Kretschmer * Otto von Kursell * Wilhelm Friedrich Loeper * Erich Ludendorff * Emil Maurice * Josef Albert Meisinger * Heinz Pernet * Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer * Helmuth Raithel * Friedrich Josef Rauch * Ernst Röhm * Alfred Rosenberg * Julius Schaub * Julian Scherner * Arno Schickedanz * Wilhelm Schmid * Julius Schreck *

Walter Schultze Walter Schultze (1 January 189416 August 1979) was a German physician and (Reich Leader of University Teachers) in Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1943. Early life and career Schultze was born on 1 January 1894 in Hersbruck in the German Empire. ...

* Franz Xaver Schwarz * Franz Schwede * Julius Streicher * Adolf Wagner * Robert Heinrich Wagner * Karl Wahl * Friedrich Weber * Wilhelm Weiss

History

Selected recipients

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading